The present invention generally relates to a storage system for managing storage apparatus. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a technical idea capable of dividing, or analyzing storage areas (storage resources) based upon use field sorts, which are provided by the storage system.
Storage systems are arranged by storage apparatus which are connected to each other via, for example, an SAN (Storage Area Network). A storage apparatus (will also be referred to as “disk array sub-system”) provides storage areas to application programs in a logic unit called as a volume. Very recently, such storage systems have been made more complex and in very large scales, while having the below-mentioned features:
(a) Various sorts/various modes of storage apparatus have been mixed with each other, the performance, reliability, cost, and vendors of which are different from each other.
(b) Evaluation metrics indicative of characteristic of volumes owns various sorts/various modes (response times, transfer speeds, RAID (Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks) structures, capacity unit prices etc.).
In the above-explained complex and large-scaled storage systems, hierarchical storage managing techniques, managing techniques based upon policies, and the like have been provided as techniques capable of managing storage resources. These technical ideas correspond to such techniques capable of subdividing storage resources for management purposes based upon characteristics such as performance and cost, which are required for storage apparatus, RAID structures, and storage resources. The conventional technical ideas related to the above-explained hierarchical storage managing techniques are described in, for instance, JP-A-2003-216460, JP-A-2006-31668, and JP-A-2003-345522. The conventional technical ideas related to the above-described managing techniques based upon the policies are disclosed in, for example, JP-A-2004-334561 and JP-A-2002-222061.
FIG. 30 is a diagram for showing process flow operations for forming a storage group list in the conventional technique. In this flow diagram, characteristics of volumes belonging to respective storage groups have been described in a condition 202 in a storage group definition table 200. For instance, as to data where a storage group 201 is “enterprise”, a condition related to a response time has been described in the condition 202 in order that such a volume suitable for a use field as the enterprise belongs thereto. Also, a volume characteristic table 120 has been constructed by containing a storage apparatus name 121, a volume number 122, a capacity 123, a status 124, a capacity unit price 125, and a response time 126. For instance, a storage group managing process operation S220 collects volumes which are fitted to the condition 202 of the storage group 201 based upon the storage group definition table 200 and the volume characteristic table 120, and then, acquires such volumes which belong to the respective storage groups 201. Then, a total capacity 212 of a volume which belongs to each of the storage groups 211 can be shown on a storage group list 210. The storage group list 210 has been constituted by containing the storage group 211 and the total capacity 212.
In this case, while a volume 121a through a volume 121d have been described in the volume characteristic table 120, such a volume having a volume characteristic which is fitted to the condition 201 of data where the storage group 201 is “mail” corresponds to both a volume 121b and a volume 121c of the volume characteristic table 120. On the other hand, such a volume having a volume characteristic which is fitted to the condition 202 of data where the storage group 201 is “archive” corresponds to a volume 121b, a volume 121c, and a volume 121d of the volume characteristic table 120. Both the volume 121b and the volume 121c belong to both the storage groups of “mail” and “archive.”
At this time, it is so assumed that a user of the conventional storage system views the storage group list 210 and judges that a volume having a capacity of 300 GB can be used for the “mail” purpose, and another volume having a capacity of 550 GB can be used for the “archive” purpose. However, if the volume 121b and the volume 121c are used for the “mail” purpose, then an unused volume within the volumes suitable for the use field of “archive” is only the volume 121d. As a result, the volume having the capacity of 550 GB cannot be used for the “archive” purpose.
FIG. 31 is a graph for graphically representing a dividing condition of storage resources in the conventional technique. Referring now to FIG. 31 (referring properly to FIG. 30), a description is made of a subdivision as to the storage resources in the conventional technique. As shown in FIG. 31, in the graph for indicating the dividing condition of the storage resources, while both a capacity unit price “M1” and a response time “M2” are set as axes, such a point (marked with black circle) that a volume is mapped by employing the capacity unit price “M1” and the response time “M2” corresponds to a volume “V.” An area “A1” shows a range where the storage group 201 is fitted to the condition 202 of the data as to “enterprise” as a characteristic of the volume “V.” Similarly, an area “A2” indicates a range where the storage group 201 is fitted to the condition 202 of the data as to “mail” as a characteristic of the volume “V.” Also, an area “A3” shows a range where the storage group 201 is fitted to the condition 202 of the data as to “archive” as a characteristic of the volume For instance, such a point which is present in an overlapped portion between the area Al and the area A2 corresponds to the volume “V” in which the characteristic can be fitted to both the condition 202 of such a data that the storage group 201 is “enterprise” and the condition 202 of such a data that the storage group 201 is “mail.” In other words, the above-described point corresponds to the volume V which is suitable for both the use fields of “enterprise” and “mail.”
In storage systems established based upon these conventional techniques, storage resources are subdivided into several pieces of groups in accordance with characteristics of volumes such as storage apparatus names, RAID structures, and response times. As a consequence, in order to subdivide these storage resources based upon use fields of volumes, these storage resources may be subdivided by employing the characteristics of the volumes suitable for the use fields of these volumes.